In 1969 Swindon had beaten Arsenal 3-1 to win the
League Cup for the first and only time in the club's history. The scorer of two
of the goals in the League Cup final, Don Rogers, had also been in form to help
Swindon beat SSC Napoli 3-0 to win the Anglo-Italian
Cup in 1970. Additionally Swindon went on to beat AS Roma 5-3 over
two legs to win the inaugural Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup later in
the year.

So, while Swindon Town were in the Second Division, they were a force
to be reckoned with and came fifth that season, missing out on promotion by a
mere three points. In Don Rogers they had a very dangerous winger who was
capped at Under-23 level for England and some say had it not been for
Sir Alf Ramsey’s dislike of wingers he would have been capped at full
international status.

While having few stars they
were a strong, well moulded unit and had played many
games together as a team and the team they fielded against United was virtually
the team that had upset Arsenal the previous year. Rod Thomas was a full Welsh
International and played over three hundred and fifty games for Swindon before joining top-flight DerbyCounty, while John Trollope played over
eight hundred games in a career that spanned twenty years. Peter Noble played
top flight with Newcastle Unied and Burnley and Stan Harland also saw service
with BirminghamCity in the First Division and amassed
over three hundred games for Swindon.

Allan Clarke took his FA Cup tally to seven when he scored
both the goals that gave United a 2-0 victory to win through to a Semi-Final
clash with old foes Manchester United.

Dazzling United buried Swindon in the
Wiltshire mud with a stylish victory over the League Cup holders. Swindon,
the Second Division side with the big Cup pedigree, fancied their chances of
dumping United out of the FA Cup, but they were never in the running. United
turned in a five star display of power and skill with two-goal Allan Clarke in
the role of executioner in chief.

Billy Bremner ran the midfield
with Johnny Giles, Paul Reaney snuffed out the threat
of danger-man Don Rogers, while ‘Sniffer” Clarke and Mick Jones pulled the Swindon
defence all over the place. Clarke’s killer touches came in the thirty-second
and thirty-fourth minutes as Swindon were opened up with
the precision of a surgeon. Clarke collected Norman Hunter’s long punt forward
as it dropped over the Swindon defence and calmly
rounded goalkeeper Peter Downsborough to slot in the
first. Before Swindon could regain their composure the
predator had rounded off a vintage United move for the
second. Jones surged forward from midfield and laid the ball off to Eddie Gray,
whose inch perfect centre was headed in with great power and accuracy by
Clarke.

Swindon, who were in the last eight
for the first time since 1924 hardly had enough possession to pose a threat,
although Peter Noble almost reduced the arrears when he hooked a shot just wide
before the interval. United were content to arrogantly
knock the ball about and the quality of their passing drew rich applause from
the CountyGround
crowd. Leeds were quicker and sharper to the ball and
almost added a third goal when Johnny Giles’s quickly taken free-kick curled
just wide of the woodwork. In the end United who were chasing an unprecedented
League, FA Cup and European Cup, had eased their way into the Semi-Final without
meeting First Division opposition.